FireFox 2.0 released [Archive]

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rdf

10-23-2006, 11:44 PM

FireFox 2.0 Download (http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Mozilla-Firefox--RC-Download-5787.html)Now Available

Features of Mozilla Firefox:

· comprehensive popup controls to keep unwanted advertising off your desktop;
· a tab browsing mode that lets you open several pages in a single window, allowing you to load links in the background without leaving the page you're on;
· integrated search (powered by Google);
· industry leading accessibility with Find As You Type - find links and page text by simply typing;
· simplified privacy controls that let you cover your tracks more effectively;
· a streamlined browser window that lets you see more of the page than any other browser while at the same time being more configurable;
· a large variety of free downloadable extensions and themes that add specific functionality and visual changes to the browser.

Hellonwheels

10-24-2006, 03:08 PM

This from the Mozilla site:

Firefox 2 Release Candidate 3 (RC 3) is a preview release of our next generation Firefox browser and is being made available for download to Web application developers, our testing community and users who want to get a sneak peek at the next version of Firefox. Please note that at this time, users should not expect all of their extensions, plugins and themes from previous versions of Firefox to work properly.

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/2.0/releasenotes/

Myc0

10-24-2006, 08:02 PM

Firefox rocks, but I think I'll wait until the upgrade is tested and stable before I get it. I'm using Firefox 1.5.07 and I LOVE it, SO much better than internet explorer. The tabbed browsing is awesome, and it's got a lot of other great features too.

11-06-2006, 09:12 PM

I have been using the new FireFox 2.0 (no longer RC3) but I couldn't find the feature in the new UI that says "Allow cookies from the originating website only." For those who want to block third-party cookies on the new FireFox, the answer is below.
open a tab in firefox 2 and type about:config go down to the line network.cookie.cookieBehavior and right click the line and click modify and change it to 1 then Only cookies from the originating server are allowed means no third party just do a search on google for firefox about:config tweaks and you should find what your looking for like on mozillazine has it too
MozillaZine (http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=478545)

rochow

11-07-2006, 08:22 PM

I recently upgraded from 1.5.07 to 2 and although it has more features, it noticeably lags the computer more than the previous version, especially when showing that a popup has been blocked, or a file has been downloaded. We are talking about a 1.8ghz computer here with 1GB of RAM. Im not sure if its just me that its happening to, but it makes me slightly disappointed because i love my firefox

Wise Young

11-12-2006, 02:14 PM

I downloaded and have been using optimized Firefox 2.0 for G4, G5, and Intel Macs. Called BonEcho, this is an optimized build for your processor and, while I have not timed it, it is definitely snappier. In addition, I also downloaded the iFox theme, a cleaner interface and font set, that makes the CareCure site much better from the viewpoint of font sizes and displays. The comments on the site suggests that people are not noticing a great deal of difference in speed but I think that I that there is a difference.

http://lifehacker.com/software/firefox/download-of-the-day-optimized-firefox-20-mac-210638.php

Wise Young

11-13-2006, 01:53 AM

http://www.linux.com/article.pl?sid=06/10/25/1418217

Review: Firefox 2.0 is a solid improvement

Wednesday October 25, 2006 (05:01 PM GMT)

By: Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier

Not to be outdone by the debut of Internet Explorer 7 last week, the Mozilla team has released Firefox 2.0 with a minor makeover, a few new features, and a number of enhancements to existing features. It's not a drastic change from the 1.5 series, but Firefox 2.0 brings enough improvements to make the upgrade worthwhile.

Many of the "new features" were already available as extensions before, but there's a substantial difference between making a feature available as an extension and building it into the browser. While savvy users will seek and find (or even write) extensions to satisfy their every whim, the Mozilla folks are trying to reach a broader audience -- an audience that by and large won't assume that it can get phishing protection, spell checking, or additional tab features by adding more software to their browser.

The new release includes a few subtle look and feel changes, but nothing dramatic or even very noticeable. I suspect that if you swapped Firefox 2.0 for Firefox 1.5 on most average users' desktops, they wouldn't notice the new icon set or theme changes.

One thing that users will notice right away, or at least I did, is Firefox's spellcheck feature. When you are writing an email using Gmail or another Web mail client, or composing a blog entry, or just posting a comment to a forum, Firefox will provide the familiar red squiggly when a word is misspelled or not in the dictionary. Right-clicking on the word will bring up a context menu with spelling suggestions (if there are any) and an option to add the word to the dictionary. The spellcheck feature is fairly clueful -- it doesn't highlight email addresses or URLs in text fields, and isn't on by default for search fields and other text entry fields that you would usually not need to spellcheck.

In addition to the new built-in spellcheck feature, Firefox 2.0 allows you to re-open closed tabs and also restart sessions if the program crashes. So far, I have not found any extension that I have been using on Firefox that will not work or there is not an updated version that will work on Firefox 2.0. There were several old themes that would not work but there are also several new themes that I think is much better. In particular, I like the iFox theme very much. It is particularly good for this website.

Another review http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/firefox_20_review.php
User interface improvements

The first thing that stands out in the new Firefox is the more modern, snappier look and feel. Everything is more shinny, more playful and more clickable.

Tabbed browsing was a major browser innovation that Firefox popularized - and in version 2.0 there are further improvements to this. By default, the links now open in a new tab instead of a new window and each tab has its own close button. There is also a new handy way of switching between the tabs, via a pulldown list of all open tabs.

<more>

Search improvements

Search is probably the most fundamental thing we do online and Firefox excels at integrating search engines in a very smart way. With this new release, Firefox adds the search completion mechanism, which works just like Google complete. As soon as the user starts typing, potential search phrases show up.

<snip>

RSS Reader integration

Perhaps the most interesting new thing in Firefox 2.0 is the integration of RSS Readers. Since its early days, Firefox has made a commitment to usability and ease of use, which implies integrating all things web right into the browser. Wiring search engines into the browser is one example. In Firefox 2.0 we now see similar integration done with RSS readers.

<snip>

I am using the version of Firefox that is optimized for my G4 (Powerbook) Powerbook, by Neil Lee (Source (http://www.tuaw.com/2006/10/26/optimized-firefox-2-0-for-g4-g5-and-intel-macs/)). The new release comes with either Aqua form widgets or Firefox default widgets. I downloaded the Aqua form widgets and then applied the iFox theme on top. I show a snapshot of the window and it is the best browser appearance that I have seen yet. The buttons do not take much space but can be clearly seen. Regarding stability, I have used it for about 8 hours and it has not crashed or even paused. I don't know what Neil Lee did to optimize it, but I believe that it is faster and more responsive than Firefox 1.5 and that was already the fastest and best browser for the Mac. I therefore recommend Firefox 2.0 highly and, if you have a Mac, to use the optimized versions.

Wise.

11-13-2006, 09:09 PM

I recently upgraded from 1.5.07 to 2 and although it has more features, it noticeably lags the computer more than the previous version, especially when showing that a popup has been blocked, or a file has been downloaded.
I haven't noticed any slowdown issues. My major complaint is what they did with the UI and how in the previous version there was a nice setting to block third party cookies.

mercydrug

04-28-2007, 04:32 PM

I've recently changed my opera for firefox 2.0 and I must say the latest rocks))

justadildo

04-28-2007, 05:18 PM

i love FF2.0...every time i use IE7 my computer shits all over itself and goes wimpering to the corner leaving a trail of piss across the floor...FF is definitly way o go, i wish it came preloaded on comp like p.o.s. IE7

Myc0

04-28-2007, 05:24 PM

When I followed RDF's link they had Firefox 3, anybody tried that yet?

rdf

04-28-2007, 06:53 PM

When I followed RDF's link they had Firefox 3, anybody tried that yet?Too early for me Myco. I like to wait until they've pretty much caught most of the bugs.

Myc0

04-28-2007, 08:07 PM

Yeah, that's what I thought. The Alpha scared me away, but I finally downloaded 2.

Jack21

05-01-2007, 07:10 AM